Tag: could

Preterm birth is a leading cause of death among children under the age of five, with low resource countries facing the greatest challenge. But before solutions can be tested, researchers first need to be able to accurately measure the problem at a population level. This has been particularly difficult in countries where pregnant women don’t

People whose high cholesterol is resistant to treatment with statin drugs may soon have a new treatment option. This new class of drugs helps block synthesis of artery-clogging cholesterol, researchers explained. The drugs target an enzyme called ATP citrate lyase (ACL), part of the production pathway for “bad” LDL cholesterol in the body. In the

Millions of Americans are progressively losing their sight as cells in their eyes deteriorate, but a new therapy developed by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, could help prolong useful vision and delay total blindness. The treatment—involving either a drug or gene therapy—works by reducing the noise generated by nerve cells in the eye,

Cognitive frailty is a heterogeneous clinical manifestation characterized by the simultaneous presence of both physical frailty and cognitive impairment, in the absence of dementia, and it seems to entail a greater death risk than physical frailty or cognitive impairment separately. Despite the potential effect of regular physical activity to slow cognitive decline and its association

Precision cancer drugs called PARP inhibitors have a previously unknown ability to boost the immune system, and could help many more patients benefit from immunotherapy, a new study reveals. Scientists found that PARP inhibitors sparked a powerful immune response when used against cancer cells with weaknesses in repairing their DNA. The study changes our understanding

Infants may be more sensitive to non-native speech sounds than previously thought, according to a study published in the Journal of Memory and Language. The findings shed light on the way babies begin to understand language. The study, coauthored by Jessica Hay, an associate professor in the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s Department of Psychology, and

Residents of aged care facilities who have been assessed as being at-risk of developing bedsores should not be repositioned every two hours, a UNSW Sydney study says. The accepted practice of two-hourly repositioning is not only ineffective at preventing pressure ulcers (bedsores) from developing, but it is suspected of causing behavioural problems by interfering with

Many studies have shown that eating fried foods on a frequent basis can lead to unwanted health consequences. Research has provided evidence that eating fried foods can affect cardiovascular health and heighten the risk of type 2 diabetes. In a new study on women over the age of 50 years from the United States, investigators

A new nuclear medicine method for detecting malignant melanoma, one of the most aggressive skin cancers, has been successfully tested for the first time in humans and could improve detection of both primary and metastatic melanoma. The research is featured in the January 2019 print issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine. The National Cancer

THURSDAY, Dec. 27, 2018 — That shiny new Apple Watch you got this holiday could potentially alert you to heart trouble you didn’t know you had. The watch contains a simple electrocardiogram (ECG) that tracks your heart rhythm and can detect the presence of atrial fibrillation (“A-fib”), an irregular heartbeat that increases your risk for

A novel way in which the inflammatory response to pain is regulated has been described in the open-access journal eLife. The results add to our understanding of the mechanisms that cause increased sensitivity to pain in response to injury and inflammation, and could pave the way for more effective therapies. Inflammatory hyperalgesia, the hypersensitivity to

Bowel (colorectal) cancer is the third most commonly occurring cancer in men and the second most commonly occurring cancer in women worldwide. The global burden is expected to increase by 60 per cent to more than 2.2 million new cases and 1.1 million deaths by 2030. The research, which has been published in the Journal

Have you ever looked at a puppy and had the urge to squeeze or even bite it? Or felt compelled to pinch a baby’s cheeks, albeit without a desire to harm it? If you answered yes to either question, you’ve experienced a phenomenon called cute aggression—and you’re far from alone. Until now, research exploring how

A unique partnership between a Virginia Tech scientist and a University of Virginia oncologist could result in a solution to reduce discomfort during cancer treatment for women. Tim Long, a professor of chemistry with the Virginia Tech College of Science, and Tim Showalter, a radiation oncologist at UVA’s Cancer Center, are testing a gel that

Due to technological advancements in recent years, medical science has made huge leaps — many with vast implications for medical and neuroscientific research. For instance, scientists devised an innovative method that allowed them to record a million neurons at once, as well as to decode neural activity in real time. The techniques gave researchers access

For the first time in nearly two decades, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new flu drug for the treatment of influenza. The new medication, called Xofluza (baloxavir marboxil), joins Tamiflu and other antiviral medicines as available options for people who get sick—and want to feel better faster—this flu season. Xofluza

(HealthDay)—There’s growing evidence that the herpes virus responsible for cold sores also may cause Alzheimer’s disease, a new research paper contends. It’s been long known that herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV1) can been found in the brains of elderly people with Alzheimer’s disease, and research has shown that herpes increases Alzheimer’s risk in people genetically

A Duke University research team has found a way to help sporting officials detect whether an athlete’s blood has been doped by an infusion of their own stored blood. While tests have been developed to detect two of the three most common methods of dramatically boosting the oxygen-carrying capacity of a competitor’s blood, so-called “autologous”

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 17, 2018 — A precision map of a part of the brain of the lowly mouse could be a potent new research tool against Alzheimer’s, researchers say. The highly detailed look at the mouse hippocampus should provide new insight into a range of brain diseases in humans, according to the research team from

Tuberculosis is a sneaky disease. The bacteria hide from antibiotics inside the very immune cells that are supposed to kill them, making treatment long and difficult. But in the November issue of ACS Infectious Diseases, UConn chemists report a new antibiotic that can find and kill tuberculosis bacteria where they hide. Tuberculosis is the number